Delta Flight Products (DFP), a subsidiary of Delta Air Lines, has revealed plans to present several accessibility-focused products at Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) in Hamburg next week, including two seats that allow customers to remain in their own wheelchair for the entire journey, and an accessible lavatory design which accommodates entry of an onboard wheelchair and up to two attendants. All three products have been designed in collaboration with the PriestmanGoode studio.
Since its debut at AIX last year, DFP’s original accessible seat design for a domestic first-class aircraft cabin has received a few upgrades. Over the past nine months, the DFP team has collaborated with and gathered feedback from the passengers with reduced mobility (PRM) community and additional stakeholders to modify the original design. This enhanced version will be on display at AIX.
DFP will also showcase a second seat, which has been designed for an economy-class cabin. According to PriestmanGoode the seat offers the same comforts and safety as the first-class version, and when installed in the first row of an aircraft it is ‘passenger-neutral’, meaning no seats need to be removed to accommodate it.
Delta Flight Products has partnered with AirforAll, a UK-based consortium which includes PriestmanGoode, Flying Disabled, SWS Certification and Sunrise Medical, to bring the concept of these seats to reality.
“Since AIX last year it has been an exciting few months of collaboration and refinement of the design – and constant engagement with the wheelchair user community. We’ve listened, and this year we’re leading the way with a family of seat products and other solutions, all part of a holistic view of the journey and an experience that’s inclusive for all,” said Daniel MacInnes, a director at PriestmanGoode.
In addition to the PRM seats, DFP will debut a first-of-its-kind accessible lavatory. The lavatory, designed for the forward cabin, includes a unique door opening which is located near the boarding door and incorporates a fixed panel that can be unlatched to accommodate the entry of an onboard wheelchair, while ensuring maximum privacy from people seated in the cabin.
All features in the lavatory are touchless and the design allows a passenger with reduced mobility to easily access additional functions, such as the sink, directly from the toilet prior to transferring back to their wheelchair.
The lighting system in the lavatory supports persons with low vision or colour sensitivity, and DFP is exploring future options such as a “smart mirror” that could accompany PA announcements with closed captioning and display tactile symbols for persons with low or no hearing.
“DFP’s involvement in the PRM seats and accessible lavatory is fundamental to our goal of always working towards improving the passenger experience,” said Rick Salanitri, president of Delta Flight Products. “We look forward to seeing these products through their testing and certification phases, which will prepare them for aircraft identification and installation, resulting in a more seamless travel journey for the PRM community.”
